Cook's Branch Conservancy stays close to it's roots

November 21, 2012 |Photos by Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle

Operated as a program of the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, Cook's Branch Conservancy offers a rare glimpse into what nearly a century of regeneration looks like in the Pineywoods region of East Texas.

Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle

16of22

Eric Keith holds a few stems of Little Bluestem grass while at the 5,650 acres of Cook's Branch Conservancy in Montgomery County north of Houston, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, in Montgomery.

Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle

16of22

Eric Keith holds a few stems of Little Bluestem grass while at the 5,650 acres of Cook's Branch Conservancy in Montgomery County north of Houston, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, in Montgomery.